Advanced Ceramic Coatings selects new facility location

Advanced Ceramic Coatings (ACC), a 50/50 joint venture between GE Aviation and Turbocoating Corp., selected Duncan, South Carolina, as the location for its new environmental barrier coating facility for jet engine components.

Formed in 2014 and headquartered in Hickory, North Carolina, ACC combines Turbocoating’s proprietary coatings technologies and industrial processes with GE Aviation’s coatings processes developed specifically for ceramic matrix composite (CMC) material to produce advanced coatings for GE’s high-temperature CMC components in the latest generation of jet engines. The new 62,500 square-foot facility will be located on Howell Road and begin operation in the 3rd quarter of 2017.

Late last year, ACC began delivering its first coated components, such as CMC shrouds for the best-selling LEAP engine from CFM International, the 50/50 joint company of GE and Safran Aircraft Engines of France. LEAP is the first commercial jet engine to ever use CMCs in the hot high-pressure turbine section.

GE expects the demand for CMCs in its engines to grow steadily over the next decade, based on a very solid current backlog of LEAP engines.

The use of lightweight, heat-resistant CMCs in the hot section of jet engines is a significant breakthrough in the aviation industry. CMCs consist of silicon carbide ceramic fibers and ceramic matrix and are enhanced with proprietary coatings. With one-third the density of metal alloys, these ultra-lightweight CMCs reduce an engine’s weight, which improves fuel efficiency and durability. CMCs are also more heat resistant than metal alloys, allowing the diversion of less cooling air into an engine’s hot section. By using this cooling air in the engine flow path, an engine runs more efficiently at higher temperature.